Humidor case for boxed cigars



May 8, 3951 A. DEMPSEY, sR

HUMIDOR CASE FOR BOXED CIGARS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 20, 1947 1 5 INVENTOR. Alba)? L Dempsey 5r.

BY 4 I I ATTORNEY May 8, 1951 A. 1... DEMPSEY, SR

HUMIDOR CASE FOR BOXED CIGARS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct 2Q, 1947 INVENTOR. A/fierf L. Dem o5 ey :51".

ATTORN EY Patented May 8, 195i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in cigar humidors, and for its general object aims to provide a case intended to be usedby retail tobacco merchants and which enables a proprietor to display cigars upon the counter of his smoke shop and maintain the displayed cigars in a continually fresh state.

It is a further and particular object to provide ahumidor for cigars enabling the cigars to be displayed in their individual boxes and which gives ready access by the customer for selecting his purchases.

,As, a further object still, the invention aims to provide a humidor case for boxed cigars and which is particularly characterized in that the label customarily aflixed to the underside of the box lid, and which usually has a high-gloss finish with another full box.

With the foregoing and still other and more particular objects and advantages in view, and which will appear and be understood in the course of the following description and claims, the invention consists in the novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a top plan view illustrating a cigar carrying humidor case constructed to embody the preferred teachings of the present invention, and showing an open box of cigars contained therein.

.Fig. 2 is a side .elevational view thereof indicating by dotted lines the manner in which the glass cover of the case is lifted to give access to the contained cigars.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken to an enlarged scale .online 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary transverse vertical section on line 4-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontalsection'taken to an enlarged scale on line ;,5 5 Qf .-F 1 g. 2

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary transverse vertical section on line 6-6 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 7 .is a perspective view portraying, fragmentarily, the removable back wall of the .case.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the .body of the case desirably has a rectangular ,plan ,con-

figuration somewhat larger than the cigar box which it is intended to contain and is or may be produced from metal to provide two side walls Ill-AH, a front wall l2, and a bottom wall l3, leavingboth the back and the top of the case open. Along the front margin of the bottom wall, the material composing the body is brought downwardly and given a return bend to describe a footing. head it, and as a complement thereto and supporting the back edge of the case there is provided 2. depending leg-forming flange l5 formed as a downturned prolongation of the bottom wall. This flange has a depth appreciably greater than the depth of the bead and' the lease thus is given a very noticeable {tilt sloping upwardly toward the rear. A rubber strip 16 having an inverted L l-shape in cross section is fitted over this top edge, and seated upon and cushioned by the rubber of the strip is a cover It made of plate glass and hinged by its rear edge to the body of the case. The hingefor thiscover is made by attaching a clip over the back edge of the glass and journaling'with-in the loop of this clip ,a wire rod, 58 which extends from one to the other side wall of the case, the ends 19 of the rod being turned down and secured to the side walls. 4

In forming the bottom wall of the case, the same is shaped to present a recess, and there is removably fitted therein a tray 22 carrying a block 2| of clay or other like or suitable humidi-fying material, the tray being open to the front and rear and presenting side walls 29 of a height sufiicient to bring the same above the upper limit of the humidfying bloc-k. Said wal1s 2l3 act to sustain the cigar box thereon and, considered in side elevation, taper downwardly toward-the front, the box being thus caused to occupy a plane inclined to a yet greater degree than the sloping plane occupied by the hinged cover.

Reverting to the flange 55, it will be seen that the footing end is turned rearwardlyupon itself in am-anner to provide anopen saddle bend 23, describing thereby an upwardly directed slot, and received in this slot is the tongue extremity 2- l of a removable plate 25 serving as the back' wall of thecase. The plate projects by its upper end "an appreciable distance abovethe top level of the case, and the-blank from which it is for-med presents lateral wings which are bent forwardly 'to describe side =flanges 2 t. In applying the back wallto the' case, these flanges are arranged to closely overlie the side wall's'lll and M alongithe back edges of thelatter. Respective pins 2-1 are -carriedby the' flanges, a and functional to catch 3 thereover and releasably lock the back wall in position are hooks 28 pivoted, as at 31], to the side walls of the case. The back wall, at or about its mid-height or, more properly, at a point roughly coinciding with the upper level of the case proper, has cemented or otherwise firmly secured upon its frontal face a transversely extending and comparatively thick strip 3 l composed by preference of sponge rubber. Excepting that there is left a narrow gap at each end allowing the back edges of the side walls It] and H to be received upon the inside of the flanges, this rubber strip extends substantially the full width of the back wall from the flange at one side to the flange at the other side.

In using the case, the back wall is removed and the tray with its humidifier 2| is fitted in the recess therefor. The box A of cigars is then opened and, with the lid B turned back, the box is inserted through the open back of the case, resting upon the upstanding walls 20 of the tray. The door 25 is now applied to the case, first placing the lid B in the upright position in which it is shown in the various views, and compressing the cushion-rubber strip (ii in the minor degree necessary to enable the hooks 28 to be caught over the pins 27. The compressed rubber strip acts with the side flanges 26 to provide an effective air seal, and for removal of cigars C from the box the purchaser need only lift the glass cover H. The present invention provides an extremely attractive display case and, being only slightly larger than the box of cigars which it contains, may be placed upon a counter where it takes up a minimum of space and is directly accessible to the customer. Particularly with drug stores and other establishments which deal in cigars primarily only as a convenience to their trade, and consequently do not sell in suficient quantities to warrant expensive humidor cabinets, the present invention provides a means by which the proprietor can assure to his customer, and at minor expense to himself, a completely fresh cigar, the increased sale which inherently results paying for the humidor within a very short period of time. Insofar as the larger smoke shops are concerned, and even though the shop is equipped with a large cabinet or cabinets containing humidifiers, the present unit has distinct advantages from the standpoint of its humidifying efficiency, sales appeal, and as a time saver in cutting down the work of the clerking personnel who have been heretofore required to remove a box from and later return the same to the cabinet as successive sales are made.

The invention and the manner of its usage are believed to be clearly understood from the foregoing. While having illustrated and described my now-preferred embodiment, modifications may perforce be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and it is my intention that the hereto annexed claims be read with a scope fully commensurate with the broadest interpretation which the employed language fairly permits.

What I claim is.

1. A humidor for boxed cigars comprisin a base having fixed bottom, side and front walls and with the top and back open, a transparent cover for said open top hingedly connected by its rear end to the side walls of the case, the box of cigars being insertable into the case through the back opening of the latter and with the lid of the box turned back and placed t occupy an upright position immediately to the rear of said hinged edge of the cover, a closure so associated with the case as to admit of being moved into and out of a position closing said back opening of the case, and a strip of cushion rubber carried upon the frontal face of the closure and acting when the closure is applied to the case to yieldingly bear against the upright lid of the cigar box and pres the latter tightly against the hinged edge of the cover, producing an air seal between the closure and the lid.

2. A humidor for boxed cigars comprising a case having fixed bottom, side and front walls with the top and back open and having the bottom wall prolonged rearwardly beyond the rear edge of the side walls and turned downwardly and thence upwardly to form a saddle bend, a transparent cover for said open top hingedly connected by its rear end to the side walls of the case, the box of cigars being insertable into the case through the back opening of the latter and with the lid of the box turned back and placed to occupy an upright position to the rear of said hinged edge of the cover, a plate serving as .a closure for the back opening of the case and at its lower end presentin a tongue arranged to be removably inserted in the slot described by said saddle bend, and hooks carried by the side walls and arranged to engage the closure plate for drawing the latter against the upright lid of the inserted box.

3. The humidor of claim 2 in which the loop of said saddle bend serves as a footing support elevating the back end of the case to a higher level than the front end.

4. The humidor of claim 2 in which the closure plate is formed with forwardly directed side flanges arranged to flt over and closely overlie the side walls of the case.

5. A humidor for boxed cigars comprising a base having fixed bottom, side and front walls with the top and back open and having the bottom wall prolonged rearwardly beyond the rear edge of the sidewalls and turned downwardly and thence upwardly to form a saddle bend, a transparent cover for said open top hingedly connected by its rear end to the side walls of the case, the box of cigars being insertable into the case through the back opening of the latter and with the lid of the box turned back and placed to occupy an upright position immediately to the rear of said hinged edge of the cover, a plate serving as a closure for the back opening of the case and at its lower end presenting a tongue arranged to be removably inserted in the slot described by said saddle bend, hooks carried by the side walls of the case and arranged to engage the closure plate for releasably holding the upper end of the latter, and an elongated strip of compressible material carried upon the frontal face of the plate and acting when the plate is hooked to the side walls to provide an air seal between the plate and the upright lid of the cigar box.

ALBERT L. DEMPSEY, SR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 663,329 Davey Dec. 4, 1900 1,283,902 Reukauf Nov. 5, 1918 1,376,506 Beskin May 3, 1921 1,414,682 Zautner May 2, 1922 1,668,892 Durham May 8, 1928 

